By Teddy Nwanunobi
The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) has demanded equality in allowances with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the ongoing renegotiations with the Federal Government.
Speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the just-concluded 114th session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland on Sunday, the General Secretary of NASU, Peters Adeyemi, insisted that non-academic workers deserved equal welfare benefits.
Specifically, he said the union was seeking parity in allowances following the federal government’s approval of a 40 per cent increase in allowances for ASUU members.
According to him, NASU members perform critical roles in universities and should not be treated differently in the allocation of welfare benefits and negotiated entitlements.
“We are demanding that whatever is given to ASUU should also be given to us because we face the same economic realities,” Adeyemi said.
He added that the union had rejected an earlier offer of a 30 per cent increase in allowances, insisting that it fell short of what was granted to ASUU.
“The government offered us 30 per cent, and we said no. Though they are our senior colleagues, we all go to the same market and buy the same fuel,” he said.
Adeyemi said landlords and service providers do not discriminate between academic and non-academic workers when determining rents and charges.
“The cost of living affects all workers equally. We cannot accept a situation where one group receives significantly better allowances than another,” he said.
The NASU general secretary said that negotiations with the federal government had progressed substantially and were nearing conclusion at the university sector level.
He said that the outcome of the university negotiations would influence discussions covering polytechnics and colleges of education, where NASU also represents workers.
“We are almost reaching the end of the renegotiation process for universities. Once we conclude that, the other sectors may not be as difficult,” he said.
Adeyemi said the government was delaying the implementation of agreements reached with unions, adding that such actions often fuel industrial disputes across tertiary institutions.
He noted that sincere collective bargaining remained essential to industrial harmony and urged government representatives to negotiate in good faith.
“When agreements are freely entered into, they should be implemented. Failure to do so only creates avoidable crises in the education sector,” he said.
Adeyemi expressed hope that the ongoing discussions would yield positive outcomes that would improve the welfare of non-academic staff across federal tertiary institutions.
He said NASU was committed to dialogue but stressed that workers expected fair treatment and equitable compensation in line with prevailing economic realities.